... Riyadh’s demands as excessive and likely to narrow U.S. room for maneuver. That is why U.S. hardliners on Iran and the Middle East pin their hopes on Crown Prince Muhammad ibn Naif who is Minister of Interior. They are wary about the possible rise ... ... are too situational and opportunistic. And Russia is in no position to
replace
the U.S. as the key extra-regional partner for Saudi Arabia, or anything close.
Occasional suggestions on the subject in the Russian media do not mean that the Kremlin is entertaining ...
... Moscow’s concrete political proposals aimed at initially creating a united front in the struggle against terrorism in the Middle Eastern region, and then at enabling a gradual political solution to its conflicts, seek to stabilize the situation in ... ... calls and flights between Moscow and other key players in the Syrian conflict. Russian President Putin has called King Salman of Saudi Arabia twice in the last ten days, not to forget the various meetings that have occurred since the start of the Russian ...
....com/news/articles/2015-08-13/iran-targets-45-oil-and-gas-projects-in-plan-to-boost-production
[18]
IEA Oil Market Report: 12 August 2015:
https://www.iea.org/oilmarketreport/reports/2015/0815/
[19]
Ibid.
[20]
IMF Executive Board Concludes 2015 Article IV Consultation with Saudi Arabia:
https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2015/pr15383.htm
[21]
Regional Economic Outlook Update Middle East and Central Asia Department May 2015, Statistical Appendix, IMF:
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2015/mcd/eng/pdf/mreo0515st.pdf
[22]
Iran's budget tackles falling oil prices, Al-Monitor, December 10, 2014:
http://www.al-monitor....
On September 3, 2015, RIAC, MGIMO-University and Saudi Institute of Diplomatic Studies held the first Russian-Saudi roundtable on bilateral relations, Middle East situation and the Gulf security.
The event was opened by RIAC Director General Andrey Kortunov, MGIMO Pro-Rector on Research and RIAC member Eugeny Kozhokin, Russian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Oleg Ozerov, Saudi Ambassador to Russia Abdulrahman bin Ibrahim Al-Rassi, and Institute of Diplomatic Studies Director Abdulkarim bin Hamoud Al-Dakhil.
The event was attended by key Russian and Saudi experts, with RIAC represented by Ambassador ...
... the inclusion of investment and electric power peaceful nuclear projects, joint GLONASS-based projects and arms supplies to Saudi Arabia.
As far as the visit of Prince bin Salman is concerned, the American factor appears quite important. First, the ... ... of opportunities, although even such a hypothetical probability seems temporary bearing in mind the extreme volatility of the Middle Eastern processes and their penchant for fast political transformations.
In this regard, Russia should carry out at least ...
... Crown Prince Mohammed, his own son. The two officials are responsible for KSA’s foreign policy in war-torn regions of the Middle East, as well as for domestic security policy. Both Abu Dhabi and Manama sent Crown Princes, real policy makers in their ... ... warning system. Several GCC states have necessary defense components in place already, such as short-range Patriot systems in Saudi Arabia and THAAD systems in Qatar, but the new agreement provides for the installation of a comprehensive system that would ...
... from the expected missile “rain” from Iran.
Talking to U.S. diplomats and military personnel who have been working in the Middle East for a number of decades, as well as regional experts and political scientists, helps us reconstruct a picture of the ... ... of billions of euros”. And it just so happens that Laurent Fabius and French President François Hollande are
currently in Saudi Arabia
as guests at the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf summit, where they are discussing new arms deliveries....
... second front seems to have been fully opened up in the Middle East by the whirlwind events in Yemen, which few predicted and hence have generated numerous
forecasts
regarding the consequences for the broader security of the Arabia Peninsula and the Middle East as a whole. They
state
that the Yemen crisis will trigger Saudi Arabia’s decline, because the Yemenis will drop their domestic squabble and close ranks to face the external threat. Others
believe
that the area is in for a full-scale war between the Sunni and the Shiite with direct and indirect involvement ...
... the control of the south is lost, events may develop unpredictably. This is particularly so amidst the political situation in Saudi Arabia, which is becoming increasingly reminiscent of the ruling elite crisis in the USSR in the 1980s. In the foreseeable ... ... to both external and internal factors. The former implies the emergence of the Islamic state and its growing influence in the Middle East. This successful project could not but affect the overall situation in the region: various radical Islamist groups ...
... was made by the king. He argued that neither the clergy nor strong groups among six thousand prices want to see a change in Saudi Arabia, and their opposition towards U.S. foreign policy ultimately dissuaded the king from accepting the bid.
The Speaker's ... ... Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq" (2006), "All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror" (2003), and "Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds" (2001).